Trojans look to further changing of guard in LA
USC basketball is already off to its best start in more than 20 years though Thursday’s crosstown showdown at the Galen Center could prove to be a monumental night for the direction of the program when it comes to pitting itself against its perennial rivals. At the surface, the Trojans have a chance to capture a season series over UCLA for the first time since 2010, which would mark only the fourth time they have accomplished that feat since 2000.
A second win over the Bruins in 2016 would not only give the Trojans the temporary title of the collegiate basketball team that runs L.A, but it could also signal an unofficial changing of the guard of the program that holds this distinction moving forward.
This notion has come into fruition relatively quickly and even more unexpectedly — UCLA was an NCAA Sweet 16 team last season, while the Trojans lost all but three conference games. The difference in just a year is obvious. What it has come down to, though, is the overall cohesion of each team’s young talent.
The ultimate difference has been the contrasting offensive styles for both teams. The Trojans play like more of a unified front, spreading the floor and finding each other for open shots in third-year head coach Andy Enfield’s run ‘n gun system. Meanwhile under Steve Alford, the Bruins seem to rely more on isolation play from its top scorers. This was apparent in the teams’ first meeting at Pauley Pavilion earlier this season when USC dominated the Bruins on its way to an 89-75 victory — a possible indicator of things to come.
Taking a step back and looking at the Trojans and Bruins’ current rosters side-by-side, both teams are incredibly young and feature only one graduating senior — USC’s Strahinja Gavrilovic and UCLA starting center Tony Parker. The rest of their rosters feature a group of juniors that are expected to be back next year, along with a fresh bundle of established freshmen and sophomores.
Accordingly, it appears that both programs are at similar points in the life cycle of a college basketball program, but their respective directions are not quite the same.
It’s a known fact that the Trojans are on the rise. They’ve won 13 consecutive home games to start the season, recently jumped back into the national rankings for the first time since 2008 and currently sit in the top three of the Pac-12 standings. Even with a skilled group of young players, UCLA’s future doesn’t seem as discernible as USC’s. The Bruins resume this season features a road victory at Gonzaga and quality wins at home over Kentucky and Arizona, which are ranked 19th and 20th, respectively, in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They have struggled, however, to find a groove in conference play, falling into the bottom half of the standings halfway through Pac-12 play.
Remember that both Enfield and Alford arrived at their respective Los Angeles-based programs at the same time. Their first two years were on opposite ends of the spectrum, but by bringing in some top recruits and simply by being patient, it’s now Enfield that has given his program the more promising feature. USC’s core group of players just seem to gel better than those of the Bruins and that’s a positive sign moving forward, as the Trojans try to continue to assert their superiority in hoops — for now.
Don’t get me wrong, neither school is going to forget its roots. USC will always be a football-first school and UCLA will always pride itself on its rich basketball history.
Every now and then, though, the tides change. Before this past season, UCLA had USC’s number on the gridiron, winning three consecutive crosstown rivalry games to start making people think that the Bruins are now becoming the “football school” in Los Angeles.
USC still has a long way to go before actually becoming the go-to basketball school in Los Angeles, but a win on Thursday night will solidify its dominance for the time being.
Darian Nourian is a senior majoring in print and digital journalism. His column, “Persian Persuasion,” runs Thursdays.